How to Keep Track of All Your Novel’s Details

Please welcome Jim Dempsey back to Writer Unboxed today! Jim is a professional member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders and works as a book editor at a company called Novel Gazing. In his own words, Jim tells us that:

‘I’ve been editing for a little more than 20 years, gradually making the shift from nonfiction to fiction, which is where my heart really lies. After a few years, I was so busy editing novels that it made sense to pool resources with another two editing friends, and together we set up our own company called Novel Gazing. That was in 2012, and although I have continued with a few nonfiction clients, I spend most of my time editing fiction for publishers and self-publishing authors. I enjoy the challenge of fiction, making sure all the pieces fit together to make a perfect whole.’

I recently worked on a story that had two Mondays in the same week. When I pointed this out, the author was so embarrassed to have made such an obvious error, but it’s a simple mistake to make. Raymond Chandler apparently forgot to reveal who killed the chauffeur in The Big Sleep, and one character in The Iliad was still around to witness his son’s death even though Menelaos had killed him much earlier.

It’s those minor characters that are usually the problem. The little details. You know your main characters perfectly, you can see them in your mind’s eye. But was her mother born before the war or just after? Did he meet his first wife when he was a freshman or was he already a sophomore?

Editors have a similar problem when they start to work on your book. They don’t know anything about your characters, the world they live in, who did what or when, but they still have to keep track of it all. They have to be able to point out that John, who had a bad limp in chapter 3, is now escaping over back-yard fences like an Olympic hurdler or remind you that the witness spoke with a heavy British accent when she was first interviewed but sounds more like a Southern belle when the inspector revisits her later in the book.

Keeping track of all of these details and idiosyncrasies is essential for the editor, and it’s useful for authors too to make sure your characters, settings, style, and backstories are consistent.

Avoid confusion

Having two Mondays in the same week and other issues with your story’s timeline in particular can be time-consuming errors to correct. It can mean that everything after that blip gets knocked out of sync too. And a simple find-and-replace to change every Monday to Tuesday won’t work as you then have to change every Tuesday to Wednesday and so on, plus check for every mention of ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’ and ‘day before’ too.

More importantly, a disturbed timeline can confuse readers: ‘I thought the murder happened on Monday, but now she’s saying today is Monday.’ It’s enough to make them drop your book to pick up another. Or worse, leave a scathing review.

It’s especially important to be on top of the timeline in stories if your story doesn’t run in a strict chronological order or you have several or alternating plot lines. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to easily keep track of your novel’s timeline.

One way is to use specialized software. Many of you will have heard of Scrivener (https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php), which was specially developed for long-form writing. As well as a word processor, the program lets you order your story with index cards on a virtual corkboard, and it comes with a detailed outlining feature.

If you’ve got a more complex storyline, perhaps a saga spanning many generations or a series covering the lives of multiple characters, then you might prefer Aeon Timeline (https://www.aeontimeline.com). It’s compatible with Scrivener—you can drag and drop documents between the two programs—and has a feature that will alert you when a character appears to be in two places at the same time. It will even work out your characters’ ages as the story progresses.

You have to pay for these programs, and you’ll have a bit of a learning curve before you’re working fluently with any of them.

Keep it simple

A simpler alternative, of course, would be to use an actual corkboard and index cards, or a large whiteboard. Or stick pieces of paper on the wall, providing you have understanding housemates if your timeline ends up stretching a little too far.

A more discreet alternative, if you don’t want to flash your novel’s specifics to everyone just yet, is to use a spreadsheet program like Excel or Numbers. But a table in a Word or Pages works just as well.

When I start editing a new novel, I set up a series of spreadsheets to keep all the details of the timeline, characters, and settings together. When I come across a description in the text, I make a note in the relevant table.

For example, my character description sheet has two columns, one for the character name and one column for the description. If I read something like: ‘Lynn combed out her long, dark hair and put on her glasses to finally read the note,’ then I add the name—Lynn— and the description—long, dark hair; glasses; shortsighted.

Over the course of the novel, I build up a picture of Lynn with the other details I come across: lives on the fifth floor; buys a flat latte every day from Stay Up Latte.

I do the same with descriptions of locations in the novel. For example: Stay Up Latte—two blocks from Lynn’s apartment; on the corner; best carrot and hazelnut cake on the north side.

The timeline table needs a few more columns. I find it useful to have a column each for the chapter number; time/day/date; and notes. If the point of view shifts in your story from one character to another (like in Gone Girl, where the chapters alternate between Amy and Nick), it’s a good idea to include a column to cover that too.

Compiling your own tables—however you do it—will give you more control over the details of your novel, maintain continuity throughout, limit the number of errors in your book, and help you avoid time-consuming revisions later.

It’s also another good way to procrastinate while still feeling productive.

How do you keep track of your novel’s details? Do you have any tips for maintaining continuity over the course of a novel or even a longer series of books?

Jim Dempsey has worked as an editor for more than 20 years. In 2012, he set up his own book editing company, Novel Gazing, and offers proofreading, copy-editing and developmental editing services. The company works with publishers and self-publishing authors.

Jim has a master’s degree in creative writing, and uses his passion for stories – all kinds of stories, fiction and nonfiction – to coach authors, helping them to develop their writing skills.

When Jim isn’t editing, he’s still reading, and reviewing books for Bookmunch.

Comments

My current novel has three protagonists and yes, the time line has gotten more difficult to juggle as the novel has gone on. Not a Schrivner devotee but I like your idea of an excel spreadsheet format. Thanks for the tips.

I keep a running punch-list on a legal pad. It’s low-tech, I know. But it’s compatible with the way my brain works. So far, so good, but time will tell. I’ve also been working with an eagle-eyed editor. I know people rave about Scrivener and some of the other tools out there, but the learning curve keeps me at a distance for now. That could all change, though. Wonderful post. I’m going to keep this for future reference. thanks!

All of my novels have two document files. One is the actual Work-in-Progress and the other is a “notes” file. The notes file contains a list of character profiles in order of their introduction in the story as well as timeline, locations, and any important vehicles or props. The bottom item in the notes file is a list of useful web research links in case I need to refresh memory on a location or historical tidbit.

That sounds nicely organized, Anthony. Adding the links from your research is especially useful. It’s good to be able to trace back to where you first came across an idea. Sometimes you can wonder if you really read that detail somwhere or did you make it up.

I use Word tables, much as you show here. I call it “Scene Map and Timeline,” and it’s a wonderful reference for checking back to see when Blake got hurt–is he able to drive yet? or whether it’s been a month since the last Garden Club meeting. (I live in fear of writing two monthly garden club meetings a week apart.)

I write in Scrivener. I have taken the status field in the Inspector and made it into Day. Then I keep track by labeling each scene as to when it takes place. Such as: Monday, week 1.

I do a character sheet for each main character. I also have a master character list, since I keep an entire series in one Scrivener project. So my series bible is right there, no matter which book I’m working on.

I KNOW RIGHT!!! my first series spanned 150 years and seven generations. i created family tree (dozens of people who never made it into the MS) and maps and reams of notes (all this besides research) new series is 4 books, essentially all the same setting, 4 MC’s, all condensed to less than a year! same principle, list of who’s who, who’s married to whom, etc, including birthdays and anniversaries, and maps and reams of notes. one tool i’ve found invaluable is https://www.timeanddate.com/ and for current series i have printed pages of each day within the time span and make notes as i go (pantser here) as to what happens on which day so i can later refer to “last week” or “last month” etc

My current WIP only spans From April 1, 1861, to the end of July 1861. You’d think it would be easy to keep track of four months. I had to set up a historical daily timeline of what was happening to figures and places and then fit my characters and the fictional places in it.

At the header of each chapter, I have the date, time of day and day in the timeline the chapter covers. I’ll remove this, of course, on the final version.

I have Scrivener, but I have to force myself to sit down and learn it.

I use a dedicated composition notebook per novel to keep track of details and facts. I’ll print out maps, calendars, etc. to help with locations and timelines, bus routes, movies, music of the period, etc.

I like the idea of a dedicated notebook per novel. I picture yours stuffed full with these maps and bus timetables — hours worth of skimming through on its own. These notebooks will be worth a fortune when you’re famous, Viaja.

I write mysteries, which means clues and red herrings and, I hope, an ending that surprises while making sense. I use a table similar to yours to keep track of the plot – time , place, characters, POV. In another table , each key character has a bio and description. Everything is fine until I change something that changes something else on down the line. The domino theory comes to mind. Cleaning up after my changes drives me nuts, but if writing mysteries were easy, it wouldn’t be as much fun.

I know exacty what you mean, Patricia. It’s why I love working on mysteries so much, it’s fitting all those pieces into the puzzle and making sure they really do fit without having to hammer them into place. Sounds like you’ve got a pretty sound method worked out.

I’m probably going to sound like a fruitcake for saying this, but what the heck. I love the idea of keeping a story bible of some sort (whether Word, Excel, or other method) but I have been inconsistent in doing so.

The reason is that it throws me out of the flow to try and document details in a linear format. But I think the obvious solution for me is to sit down and do that either at the end of a writing session or at the beginning of the next one, before I immerse myself in the actual writing. It shouldn’t be that complicated, but I have a knack for making the simple complicated.

BTW, I’ve tried Scrivener–twice–and found it didn’t suit me (I’m sure I’ll love it once I develop patience). Also tried Aeon some time ago but found it too restrictive. I tend to still stick with Excel and the more free-form capabilities of Word.

I think you soon come to your own way of working through trial and error, just as you’ve done, BK. For me that means working in Excel too. And I think, to prevent interrupting the flow, that it’s worth waiting till the second draft to put the details into a spreadsheet. Get the main story down first and worry about the details later in the rewrite. Whatever works for you.

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. You didn’t sound like a fruitcake at all.

For my series, I just did an index in Evernote. Questions like, “When was the spaceship built?” and then the page number so I can look it up in the actual manuscript if I need it. Nothing fancy or complicated. Even a table or a spreadsheet wouldn’t be all that simple for me.

For my current project, just a notepad where I write down things like what the character is wearing that I will use in other scenes.

I have used Aeon Timeline and found it useful. Especially for fantasy writers because it allows you to make your calendar. But I also use Excel and Scrivener. For my Excel file I have the chapters as rows and the various aspects of the plot along to the top. Then each cell is how that aspect of the plot is changed/advanced in that chapter.

I’m a little late getting to this. A few novels ago, to help sort out multiple threads on a complex historical novel, I tried index cards. Then for my last one, on a “what if”, I opened Powerpoint, which I have used for other presentations.

In the full screen view Powerpoint windows are exactly like cards on a bulletin board. And there are endless tools of color, font, and placement etc. even photos, to set things up to help dive in or grasp at a glance where things are. Each of my protagonists has a color of font. I used cards for chapters, but one can be creative here, too, about what each card handles. Missing ideas or places needing rewrites can each have a color. (This worked well in rereading and editing process along with the comment feature in the doc.) Threads of plot (or whatever) can each use a font. Bullets can offer detailed comments.

Its major benefit over cards is its digital portability and with a push of the mouse, the windows slide around (like cards) to experiment with order and emphasis. As a companion, I use documents as a reference for the exact spelling (of foreign names, say), backstory and characteristics of each character.

The best thing about scrivener is that you don’t need to know how to use it all to get use out of it. Start simple and go from there. The main plus of Scrivener is having everything in one place, not having swap back and forth between word documents, Excel, power points, etc.

Word tables. The columns are: chapter, POV characters, other characters who appear, what happens. The POV character column helps me not let a character in a multi-character story languish unseen for too many chapters. This is all after-the-fact, a record, not a plot.

Very helpful article, Jim. I have always used a notebook beside my computer and make notes as I complete a chapter as to what happens in that chapter, as well as the date and day of the week. I also created a simple word document with a list of the characters who are regulars in my Seasons Mystery Series with a description of each and some other pertinent character information. I refer to that loosely as my “series bible,” although it is not as detailed as a series bible for television.

I had never thought of using Word Tables, but I think I will try that as I slowly move from lots of paper on my desk to more documents on the computer. My kids are always chuckling at how Mom never uses the computer to full capacity, but my learning curve for new programs is very steep.

For my 700-page “Mayflower Revelations” novel, I wrote the first draft in screenwriting software (CeltX, the $14 version). As I have written numerous screenplays, this is easy for me. I got the story timeline sorted out, as well as the character descriptions, settings, actions and dialogue. Then I copied it into Word and let my imagination fly. Big advantage: the screenplay is already drafted!

Hi Jim, Thanks for the article. I liked all the remarks also. I do not write novels, but I edit them as well as other manuscripts. I read this article looking for ideas that would help me find a way to reorganize a piece I am working on that is convoluted at best. Plus it has a lot of duplications. I figured your ideas to keep your writing in order would help. I like a number of the ideas here on how to organize the work and will use one of them to re-organize this piece I am working on. Thanks to all!

I use a great program called “Write It Now,” which I didn’t see mentioned here. It is very easy to use and has a ton of helpful features. You can divide your story (novel in this case) into both chapters and scenes, or either. The novel “tree” (like a story outline) stays on the left panel of the page so you can always see your organization as you write, and you can reorder the chapters and scenes by dragging them to the new place. On the right you have a new screen for each chapter to write in the text. There are many places to write notes, character descriptions, props, events, etc., and great features such as a storyline editor, a storyboard (looks like notecards), various graphs and features I haven’t explored yet. You can output your finished manuscript to your word processor (I use Word). Highly recommend and I suspect it is easier to use than Scrivener. A little like “Disneyland for Writers.” It used to develop a conflict graph for you if you want – I couldn’t find it in this latest version but it may have been moved. I’ve used it for some years and just reviewing the tree outline on the left helps me pick up from where I left off and also SEE where I left off – and whether the order of scenes/chapters can be improved. Love it!

I copy-edit, mainly fiction. I always keep track of the chronology as so many authors don’t. It once took me four days to impose a working timeline on an otherwise wonderful (and prize-winning) novel. The same author’s next book had location issues – all within London, but with random street names, stations and landmarks thrown together in ways that didn’t reflect the reality at all.

This article was super helpful. I tend to forget small details, like how long my protagonist was in jail for or what spell was cast upon certain enemies. It’s quite a mission to go back and change details, not to mention finding them for a start. I did try track everything using post-it notes. But I eventually just ended up with a wall full of pink and yellow squares and no way of efficiently searching for information. I’m going to give the excel sheet a try.